Friday, April 15, 2005

Of CTA and service cuts

I was watching a Chicago TV newscast and their coverage of the proposed CTA service cuts and was struck by something the reporter said. To paraphrase: "The service could be cut as early as July if the state does not fund the CTA"
Now, we know the media is supposed to report facts. This however is CTA propaganda. They say the same thing in announcements on the bus! Notice the reporter did not say "service could be cut if the CITY does not fund" or "the COUNTY".
I would encourage every CTA rider to wait out this ridiculous chirade. Of course service is not going to get cut down to Sunday levels. That's just idiotic. Remember, the Mayor just cashed a check for $1.82 billion that we got for leasing the Chicago Skyway. To date, he hasn't said what he's doing with that money. Granted, most of it may have already been hauled away in one of those hired trucks, but there's gotta be enough left over to bail out the CTA, if indeed it really needs to be bailed out at all.
The CTA benefits people of Chicago especially and a couple of surrounding communities. This is not something that benefits the people of East Moline. This is not an issue for the people of Carbondale. This is not on the minds of residents Rockford. Why are we asking them to fund our transit system again?
The whole CTA system is contained within the borders of Cook County. Cook County is an extremely wealthy and well-to-do county. Why are we shifting the funding buden on the state? Is it because our officials want to blame someone else when there isn't enough money?
Don't be suckered in. If your CTA service gets cut, blame city and county officials. They can make it work. But they choose not to.